Google share price up, strikes a $1.2-billion 60-year lease contract with NASA for its Moffett Field

Google Inc. has reached an agreement with NASA for a $1.2-billion lease of its Moffett Field airfield located in California over sixty years. The transaction is considered as part of the companys strategy to invest in new technologies like aviation and robotics.

The vice president of real estate and workplace services at Google – Mr. David Radcliffe – said in a statement, which was cited by Bloomberg: “We look forward to rolling up our sleeves to restore the remarkable landmark Hangar One, which for years has been considered one of the most endangered historic sites in the United States.”

According to an official statement made by NASA, an investment larger than $200 million will be made by Googles subsidiary Planetary Ventures LLC. The airfield is expected to be used for the process of “research, development, assembly and testing in the areas of space exploration, aviation, rover/robotics and other emerging technologies”. A working airfield, golf course and other buildings are also included in NASAs property that will be used by the tech giant.

Google intends to renovate three large hangars located in the historic Navy air base, which will be used for various projects in the area of space exploration, robotics and aviation. The company, which owns the largest search engine in the world, is to pay a total of $1.16 billion in rent over the period of the contract.

NASA also said in its statement that the contract with Google will not only bring it almost $1.20 billion in rents over the 60-year time span, but is also expected to save it $6.4 million in annual operating expenses.

Google Inc. rose 1.16% on Monday to close at $558.23 per share on the NASDAQ, marking a one-year change of +9.78%. The company is valued at $370.67 billion. According to CNN Money, the 43 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Google Inc. have a median target of $640.00, with a high estimate of $750.00 and a low estimate of $530.00. The median estimate represents a +14.65% increase from the last price of $558.23.